Portable electronic device case assembly

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are involved with but are not limited to an apparatus including a first frame shaped and sized to receive a tablet-shaped computing device; and a second frame shaped and sized to receive the first frame. In addition, other aspects are described in the claims, drawings, and text forming a part of the present disclosure.

SUMMARY

In one or more aspects, an apparatus includes, but is not limited to acase including a first frame shaped and sized to receive a tablet-shapedcomputing device; and a second frame shaped and sized to receive thefirst frame. In addition to the foregoing, other method aspects aredescribed in the claims, drawings, and text forming a part of thedisclosure set forth herein.

In addition to the foregoing, various other aspects are set forth anddescribed in the teachings such as text (e.g., claims and/or detaileddescription) and/or drawings of the present disclosure. The foregoing isa summary and thus may contain simplifications, generalizations,inclusions, and/or omissions of detail; consequently, those skilled inthe art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and is NOTintended to be in any way limiting. Other aspects, features, andadvantages of the devices and/or processes and/or other subject matterdescribed herein will become apparent in the teachings set forth herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

For a more complete understanding of embodiments, reference now is madeto the following descriptions taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings. The use of the same symbols in different drawings typicallyindicates similar or identical items, unless context dictates otherwise.

With reference now to the figures, shown are one or more examples ofportable electronic device case based articles of manufacture,compositions of matter, systems for producing and/or methods forproducing same that may provide context, for instance, in introducingone or more processes and/or devices described herein.

FIG. 1 is a front perspective exploded view of a portable electronicdevice case embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective exploded view of the portable electronicdevice case embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front perspective exploded view of the portable electronicdevice case embodiment of FIG. 1 showing an exemplary device to be sohoused therein.

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective exploded view of the portable electronicdevice case embodiment of FIG. 1 showing an exemplary device to be sohoused therein.

FIG. 5 is a rear plan view of the portable electronic device caseembodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional side-elevational view of the portableelectronic device case embodiment of FIG. 1 taken along the 6-6 cut lineof FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional side-elevational view of the portableelectronic device case embodiment of FIG. 1 taken along 7-7 cut line ofFIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a front perspective view of the portable electronic devicecase embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is a front perspective view of the portable electronic devicecase embodiment of FIG. 1 showing handle use.

FIG. 10 is a rear perspective view of the portable electronic devicecase embodiment of FIG. 1 with stand in retracted position.

FIG. 11 is a rear perspective view of the portable electronic devicecase embodiment of FIG. 1 with stand in extended position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings,similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless contextdictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in thedetailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting.Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made,without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matterpresented here.

Portable electronic devices, such as electronic tablets, along withtheir conventional cases, can pose challenges in ease of use for holdingsuch cases.

Turning to FIG. 1, shown in front exploded perspective view is a firstembodiment of device case 10 depicted to include a first case portionknown as front frame 12 and a second case portion known as rear frame14. As explained, front frame 12 and rear frame 14 can removably couplewith each other to form a portable electronic device case.

Front frame 12 includes outer periphery 16, outer wall 18, inner ledge20, outer lip 22, threaded stem 24, inner periphery 26, inner wall 28,and inner lip 30. Outer periphery 16 with outer wall 18, inner ledge 20,and outer lip 22 is sized and shaped to mate with rear frame 14. Threadstem 24 used in part for securing front frame 12 with rear frame 14.Inner periphery 26 with inner wall 28 and inner lip 30 is sized andshaped to receive a device to be held therein.

Further regarding FIG. 1, rear frame 14 includes outer periphery 40,upper edge 41, indents 42, and outer ledge 44, apertures 46, fasteners48, back 50, first material 50 a, second material 50 b, stand 51, andchannels 52 with channel height 52 a and channel depth 52 b. Outerperiphery 40 of rear frame 14 is shaped and sized to align with outerlip 22 of front frame 12 so that outer lip 22 fits inside of outerperiphery 40 when front frame 12 and rear 14 are coupled together tocontain a device such as a tablet. Indents 42 can provide shockabsorption characteristics. Outer ledge 44 with ledge length 44 a andledge width 44 b is sized, shaped, and positioned to obscure or coverinner ledge 20 when front frame 12 and rear frame 14 are coupledtogether. Apertures 46 are sized Coupled with rear frame 14 is handleassembly 54 also known as retractable handle or handle. Handle assembly54 includes grip length 54 a, handle length 54 b, grip width 54 c, grip56, grip ends 56 a, bands 58, apertures 60, attachment members 62, firstends 64, springs 66, second ends 68, fasteners 70, apertures 72, andanchors 74. As shown, bands 58 are coupled to grip 56 via grip ends 56a.

Outer ledge 44 is recessed from upper edge 41 such that grip 56 is flushwith upper edge 41 when handle assembly 54 is in the retracted position.As depicted, grip 56 is shaped and positioned to be in alignment withouter edge 44. Bands 58 are shaped and sized to be received by channels52, which allow bands 58 to slide there through for movement of grip 56between retracted (e.g. FIG. 5) and extended (e.g. FIG. 9) positions.Continuing with FIG. 1, bands 58 are coupled to springs 66 attachmentmembers 62 both coupled with apertures 60 of bands 58 and first ends 64of springs 66. Second ends 68 of springs 66 are coupled to rear frame 14via fasteners 70 placed through apertures 72 and second ends 68 ofsprings 66 whereupon fasteners 70 and anchors 74 further engage rearframe 14. Springs 66 can be adjusted to be in tension both in theretracted position as well as the extended position of handle 54.

Turning to FIG. 2, shown in rear perspective exploded view is frontframe 12 and rear frame 14 of device case 10. Rear frame 14 is shown tofurther include threaded stems 82 that receive fasteners 70 and to alsoinclude inner features 84 and inner periphery 85.

An exemplary device, such as a table-shaped computing device referred toherein as tablet 100 is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 to give furtherperspective as to how front frame 12 and rear frame 14 are sized andshaped for containment thereof. Tablet 100 is depicted to include back102, periphery 104, device top edge 105, display 106, device displayside 107, front periphery 108, and control 110. Tablet 100 is shown tobe contained by case 10 in which device top edge 105 shares the sameside as handle 54 to accommodate use of tablet 100 when case 10 is beingheld with handle 54 (e.g. FIG. 9). Front frame 12 is depicted as beingcontoured to provide access to control 110.

Turning to FIG. 5, stand 50 is depicted to include first portion 86 andsecond portion 88. As shown grip top surface portion 90 is substantiallyflush with upper edge 41 and channels 52 substantially obscure bands 58when handle 54 is in retracted position. FIGS. 6 and 7 showcross-sectional views of device case 10 taken along 6-6 and 7-7 cutlines, respectively, of FIG. 5. These cross-sectional views further showhow front frame 12 and rear frame 14 are sized and shaped to containexemplary device 100 therein.

As to FIG. 8, device case 10 is depicted in front perspective view withhandle 54 in retracted position and as containing exemplary device 100.FIG. 9 shows handle 54 in extended position being held while in usewherein the handle in the extended position is sized at least a width ofa portion of a user's hand and a thickness of a portion of a user'shand. Handle 54 is so sized and positioned to allow such positioning ofa hand for better grip of device case 10 while being held in use. Theextended position of handle 54 provides further tension by springs 66allowing for more holding ability of the case 10 by the handle 54.Springs 66 can also be under tension when handle 54 is in the retractedposition to keep handle 54 snug to the rest of case 10.

FIGS. 10 and 11 are rear perspective views of device case 10 that showstand 50 with positioning of first portion 86 and second portion 88 inretracted and extended positions, respectively. As shown, first portion86 is hingedly and slidably coupled to other portions of rear frame 14.Second portion 88 is shown hingedly coupled to both first portion 86 andother portions of rear frame 14.

Front frame 12 can generally be made from first materials aspolycarbonate materials or other hard materials such as other hardopaque plastic material and/or along with rear frame 14 can be made fromcombinations of first materials as polycarbonate materials or other hardmaterials such as other hard opaque plastic material and secondmaterials as thermoplastic polyurethane, thermoplastic elastomer,silicone materials, or other soft material such as other soft plasticmaterial, which provides shock absorption and surfaces for handlingqualities. These first and second materials can be either co-molded orsingle molded. For instance, if front frame 12 were to be solely of oneor more first materials, single molding would be performed. Forinstance, if rear frame 14 were to have various portions of firstmaterials and other portions of second materials, co-molding would beperformed. The harder first materials would provide more structuralrigidity and the softer second materials would provide more shock impactcharacteristics and more surface texture to possibly aid its gripcharacteristics. Generally, first materials could have a hardness valuegreater than the hardness value of second materials. Hardness value is amaterial characteristic that is known to be generally expressed in termsof Shore A, Shore D, Rockwell, or other hardness measurement standards.General manufacturing considerations for co-molding can include use oftools to create metal (e.g. steel) moldings to first receiveheated-melted material for solidification to form first-material-basedportions and subsequently receiving other heated-melted material to beover-molded for solidification to form second-material-based portions.Single molded processes can be used to form for instance front frame 12from a single material. Other molding processes can be used tomanufacture front frame 12 or rear frame 14 as well.

While particular aspects of the present subject matter described hereinhave been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modificationsmay be made without departing from the subject matter described hereinand its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are toencompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as arewithin the true spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein.It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, termsused herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of theappended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term“including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” theterm “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term“includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,”etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if aspecific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such anintent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence ofsuch recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid tounderstanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of theintroductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claimrecitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed toimply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinitearticles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing suchintroduced claim recitation to claims containing only one suchrecitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases“one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or“an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “atleast one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use ofdefinite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, evenif a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitlyrecited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitationshould typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number(e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without othermodifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or morerecitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a conventionanalogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in generalsuch a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the artwould understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one ofA, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have Aalone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where aconvention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, ingeneral such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill inthe art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at leastone of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that haveA alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be furtherunderstood by those within the art that typically a disjunctive wordand/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in thedescription, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplatethe possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, orboth terms unless context dictates otherwise. For example, the phrase “Aor B” will be typically understood to include the possibilities of “A”or “B” or “A and B.”

With respect to the appended claims, those skilled in the art willappreciate that recited operations therein may generally be performed inany order. Also, although various operational flows are presented in asequence(s), it should be understood that the various operations may beperformed in other orders than those which are illustrated, or may beperformed concurrently. Examples of such alternate orderings may includeoverlapping, interleaved, interrupted, reordered, incremental,preparatory, supplemental, simultaneous, reverse, or other variantorderings, unless context dictates otherwise. Furthermore, terms like“responsive to,” “related to,” or other past-tense adjectives aregenerally not intended to exclude such variants, unless context dictatesotherwise.

What is claimed is:
 1. A case comprising: a first frame shaped and sized to receive a tablet-shaped computing device to couple with a display side of the tablet-shaped computing device; a second frame shaped and sized to receive the first frame, the second frame including a continuous back to obscure a back of the tablet-shaped computing device being received by the case; and one or more fasteners to contribute in coupling the first frame and the second frame together, the one or more fasteners including one or more screws, the first frame including one or more stems threaded for receiving the one or more screws, the second frame including one or more apertures positioned to align with the one or more stems of the first frame, wherein the first frame has an inner lip shaped and sized to abut with periphery of the tablet-shaped computing device, and wherein the first frame has an inner wall extending from the inner lip to abut with a front periphery of the tablet-shaped computing device without abutting with the display of the tablet-shaped computing device.
 2. The case of claim 1 wherein the second frame includes an inner periphery and the first frame includes an outer lip shaped and sized to abut with the inner periphery of the second frame.
 3. The case of claim 1 wherein the first frame has an aperture sized and shaped to provide visual access to a display of a tablet-shaped computing device being received by the first frame.
 4. The case of claim 1 wherein the first frame is made of polycarbonate material.
 5. The case of claim 1 wherein the second frame includes a first material having a first hardness and a second material having a second hardness less than the first hardness in terms of Shore A, Shore D, or Rockwell measurement standards.
 6. The case of claim 5 wherein one or more portions of the second frame are made from one or more thermoplastic polyurethane, thermoplastic elastomer, or silicone materials.
 7. The case of claim 1 wherein a portion of the first frame is contoured to provide access to a control of a tablet-sized being received by the first frame.
 8. The case of claim 1 wherein the second frame includes a stand.
 9. The case of claim 1 wherein the stand includes retracted and extended positions.
 10. A case comprising: a first frame shaped and sized to receive a tablet-shaped computing device, the first frame has an inner lip shaped and sized to abut with a periphery of a first side of the tablet-shaped computing device; a second frame shaped and sized to receive the first frame and to abut with a second side of the tablet-shaped computing device; one or more fasteners; and one or more threaded stems to receive the one or more fasteners to couple the first frame and the second frame together to form the case to hold the table-shaped computing device therein, wherein the first frame has an inner wall extending from the inner lip to abut with a front periphery of the tablet-shaped computing device without abutting with the display of the table-shaped computing device. 